How to Protect Your Brand?

Do you know how to protect your brand? Read in this article how you can copyright or trademark your brand.

It can be hard work starting a new business. From the outset, just identifying the many tasks to address and decisions to be made can be overwhelming. What type of business entity should I form? Do I need a business plan? What should I name my business? Do I need to rent office space, and if so, where? What is the best way to market my business?

Of course, as many business owners will tell you, all of that planning and hard work can be worth it. Aside from the potential financial rewards, most successful business owners enjoy a lifelong sense of satisfaction at having built something they can be proud of. And if you’re really successful, there will be no shortage of competitors trying to emulate your success. While competition should be expected and planned for in any business endeavor, what happens when a competitor crosses the line into unlawful business practices, such as stealing your trade name, logo, formulas, or other trade secrets?

Key Steps to Protect Your Logo and Other Branding Elements

The most common way to legally protect your brand is to register a trademark or copyright, or both, to put the entire world on notice of your claim to the exclusive rights in the registered mark or work. While an owner can register both a trademark and copyright for certain intellectual property assets, they are not the same thing. Understanding the differences is an important first step toward making sure your IP assets are properly protected.

Trademark your Unique Branding Elements

A trademark protects words (like a brand name), phrases (like a catchphrase or slogan), or designs (like a logo) that are used to identify a unique source of goods or services and distinguish them from goods and services available from other sources. The owner of a mark typically has common law rights in the mark, but most business owners are best served by taking the formal step of registering their mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) or its corresponding agency at the State level, if any. A formal registration with the USPTO provides several benefits, including:

Related links for the laws regulating trademark registration and protection

Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 on Trademarks,

Federal Decree-Law no. (38) of 2021 Issued on 20/09/2021

ON COPYRIGHTS AND NEIGHBORING RIGHTS

Federal Law No. 7 of 2002 on Copyrights and related rights,

Ministerial Resolution No. 411 of 1993 on control over the intellectual works protected under law no. 40 of 1992 on copyrights and author’s rights (Arabic)

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